When I stepped into 优蜜视频鈥檚 Barder House on June 18, I did not know what to expect. While I had researched the mission and programs of 优蜜视频, I was not sure what exactly the term 鈥渘on-profit management鈥� encompassed, nor was I familiar with the inner workings of non-profits, despite my experience volunteering with non-profits in the past. But having matriculated through gifted programs before, I was deeply moved by 优蜜视频鈥檚 advocacy for gifted education and focus on the 鈥�.鈥� With my interest in entrepreneurship and economics, I wanted to learn about the origin and development of 优蜜视频, and understand what makes a non-profit a non-profit.

I came upon after my friend told me about his experience as a Caroline D. Bradley Scholar. After researching 优蜜视频 and the mentors and sites at EXPLORE, I was drawn to the program鈥檚 career-oriented philosophy. I had taken courses at local colleges during previous summers, so I yearned for a more hands-on experience.

Here are three themes that defined my externship and made my EXPLORE experience unforgettable:

1. Community: Throughout my externship, I felt like a true member of 优蜜视频鈥檚 staff. Six weeks may not seem like a long time, but my mentor Abby and her colleagues welcomed me as an integral part of their team. From our July 4 potluck to our light hearted conversations during meetings, I appreciated the sense of unity and camaraderie within 优蜜视频. I was also fortunate to connect with 优蜜视频鈥檚 close-knit community of gifted students, parents and educators at the annual Summer Spotlight event.听And I cannot forget Not to mention the Friday workshops鈥攅very Friday morning EXPLORE externs came together to connect with each other and learn about career and college readiness. It is truly a small world that I got to meet fellow boarding school peers with whom I shared mutual friends. During our educational workshops and lunch breaks in Little Tokyo, we shared stories about our schools and became friends over udon soup and ice-cold lemonade.
2. Hands-on: In addition to learning about the fundamentals of marketing, development, and programming, I enjoyed applying my skills to worthwhile projects. By analyzing the history of donations to 优蜜视频, for example, I not only honed my statistics know-how, but also gained and shared valuable insight on areas of strength and weakness in our development strategy.听For my Google Analytics project, I delved into Google鈥檚 helpful tool for tracking a website鈥檚 traffic. Besides mining through the labyrinth of stored data, I harnessed my findings to formulate recommendations for possible future improvements. I discovered that 优蜜视频 has untapped potential to attract more Spanish speakers and implemented this recommendation by translating a few of our program flyers to Spanish.
3. Revealing: My externship shed light on the skill sets necessary for various careers. While working on my Donor Analytics project with Abby, I discovered the importance of statistics in data-driven fundraising, where past trends inform future strategies. It was also exciting to use my Spanish to translate flyers; I came to realize the significance of the language in marketing and communications-based careers. While my interests and goals may change over the years, at least I now have a grounded impression of what careers in the non-profit sector entail.

Rather than hammering concepts in a lecture hall, I fell deep into the weeds of informative projects and learned about marketing and management in an engaging way. No course or tutorial in non-profit management could have given me the same level and depth of knowledge.

Mark Blekherman is an EXPLORE extern at 优蜜视频 this summer. He is a rising senior at Phillips Exeter Academy.

Jennifer is 优蜜视频’s Marketing and Communications Coordinator听and puts听her enthusiasm for grammar听to good use daily.

I have a confession to make: I love grammar; I always have. When I began learning Spanish, I was excited about how much it taught me about English grammar. Proofreading my friends鈥� papers was how I relaxed and de-stressed in college. When I heard a coworker express her love for the semicolon, I immediately jumped into a discussion with her about it. My obsession with books often sends me to Barnes and Noble, where I cannot pass a book on grammar without buying it. I have strong urges to hole myself up in my room reading Eats, Shoots and Leaves.

I am a writer. It is what I love to do most. Commanding use of grammar and vocabulary 鈥� another of my deep interests 鈥� makes me a more effective writer. Unfortunately, though, grammar, vocabulary, and books are not exactly the most hip interests to have when you are in elementary school.

Being a gifted kid, I couldn鈥檛 tolerate the use of improper grammar. I often corrected others, including adults. I earned the reputation of being weird, snobby, and rude. My mom even had to implement a rule that I was not allowed to correct my grandmother鈥檚 grammar, regardless of how much it bothered me.

As I got older, I realized that I didn鈥檛 have to be seen as weird. I could love and obsess over grammar without anyone knowing about it. I could correct people in my head 鈥� as I had learned to do with my grandmother 鈥� and I could experience the satisfaction of fixing their sentences without anyone knowing that I was doing so. Like many gifted kids, I hid my 鈥渨eird鈥� interest and retreated into my thoughts, which captured my interest more than all the grammatically incorrect conversations buzzing around me.

The problem still remained, though, that I used proper grammar when I spoke. Despite not needing to talk about grammar or correct others鈥� grammar out loud, I still answered the question 鈥淗ow are you?鈥� with the response, 鈥淚鈥檓 well, thank you.鈥� So, I implemented a common gifted kid coping mechanism: I started using incorrect grammar on purpose, at least when it came to the culturally acceptable uses such as using 鈥済ood鈥� instead of 鈥渨ell.鈥� This habit joined the existing practice of “dumbing down” my vocabulary in front of other kids.

Today, I am much more comfortable in my weird intellectual skin. I know that people who don鈥檛 like me for me don鈥檛 belong in my life, and my friends 鈥� even those I made back in those coping days 鈥� accept me for who I am. I am a grammar geek, I am a word nerd, and I am a rabid reader. I wish I听hadn鈥檛 feel the need to cover up any of those things in the past.听 Unfortunately, I did. My advice to gifted kids who feel the need to hide their 鈥渨eird鈥� interests and traits: Don鈥檛 lose sight of what makes you who you are. One day you will find someone who embraces you for you, and you will be able to be yourself and be accepted. Make sure that, when that time comes, you haven鈥檛 lost yourself in the sea of what you tried to become in order to be accepted by others.

Like this post? to get more gifted stories, resources, and information听delivered straight to听your inbox.